The laptop DC power jack on my Dell Inspiron 1505e needs to be replaced. Soldering is involved so I need to have this done somewhere professional. I also have some missing keys and I will need to have my keyboard replaced too. Please recommend someone for me. It's my work laptop and my boss will pay for this, so I'm not worried that much about price, just someone that will do a good job.

10/3/2008 3:42:08 PM

where you guys go to get your shit fixed?

10/3/2008 9:19:13 PM

go to Geek Squad, they can fix anything!

10/3/2008 9:38:14 PM

i can do it for you, this isn't hard at all

PM me if you'd like.

10/3/2008 10:40:11 PM

Several years ago same thing happened to an HP laptop I had. I had zero luck with anyone willing to take it apart and solder a new jack on. Furthermore, I couldn't even find a replacement powerjack anyway.

only option I had was to replace the mobo.

thank god for Apple's magsafe power cables, now. Every other PC company should be using a variant of these or licensing the magsafe it from Apple

10/3/2008 10:40:43 PM

Quote :

"Every other PC company should be using a variant of these or licensing the magsafe it from Apple "

yes

10/4/2008 11:49:02 AM

Quote :

"thank god for Apple's magsafe power cables, now. Every other PC company should be using a variant of these or licensing the magsafe it from Apple"

QFT

10/4/2008 11:52:56 AM

true. wonder why they aren't..is it just patented that well?

[Edited on October 4, 2008 at 12:25 PM. Reason : asdf]

10/4/2008 12:25:29 PM

but wait, aren't magsafes known to spontaneously combust?

10/4/2008 9:33:33 PM

^^ it seems like I have seen one other version of the magsafe - a round, magnetic plug, but i don't recall where I saw it.
I'm sure Apple has patented the hell out of it, but I would be surprised if someone else couldn't find some similar method that is not patent-infringing. And of course Apple is not exactly known to dole out licenses for their IP, but.... the PC companies should just man up and make them an offer the can't refuse. Of course, i don't know what that would be, since Apple has more money than God right now.... certainly a lot more than any PC company has

10/4/2008 9:51:07 PM

^^Yeah, but the more recently made ones have chunkier jackets at the joining of the cable and jack.



I've seen Lenovo T60 series adapters and the older Dell Inspiron adapters (the ones with the weird plastic 3 hole plugs) do the same thing in terms of fraying like the MagSafe. It seems that by some magic of intelligent engineering they fault before melting though.

The fraying has nothing to do with the MagSafe feature and is still a good idea overall. Too bad Apple's design aesthetic had to interfere with durability.

[Edited on October 4, 2008 at 9:55 PM. Reason : ]

10/4/2008 9:54:36 PM

It can't be all that patented, my fondue pot has a cable that sticks on magnetically and breaks away.

10/5/2008 1:11:07 AM

I've been doing laptop DC jack repair for years on here for a $50 flat fee. I usually charge more to local shops and such, but for TWW stuff that's always been the price unless its an Apple or a crazy ultraportable model that requires significant extra labor. I warranty my work and I've done hundreds of laptops up to this point . . . . just PM me and we can set it up if you'd like.

10/5/2008 1:51:05 AM

Quote :

"but wait, aren't magsafes known to spontaneously combust?"

i've seen it happen a lot, more than on a pc (hell never on a pc), but the design needs work.

10/5/2008 6:30:04 PM

All laptop AC adapters have issues with physical trauma, it just comes with the territory. Magsafe is a nifty solution to the most blatant issue with adapter cords, AKA people tripping over them and such. If you've never seen a PC "spontaneously combust" you're never worked with Dell Inspiron 1150's or 5150's, or various other models with weak solder joints. Nothing's perfect, but its definitely a step in the right direction. Hell, I can't think of how many times I've stretched a cord to my laptop across a hall/etc to reach an elusive outlet and thought to myself that its a disaster waiting to happen, heh.

10/6/2008 3:27:33 AM

Quote :

"issue with adapter cords, AKA e.g. people tripping over them"

10/6/2008 7:24:24 AM